O o o o o



(No Model.)

c. D. P. GIBSQN. ELECTRIC STORAGE BATTERY.

'Patented Mar. 2o, 1888.

O Gr. O O G o O OOO OOO@ OOO OOOOOG i @@0000 000000@ @0090000000 oeooo o.o...ooooo; @010.0.

Goos;

OOOOOO OOO- go 08o o o OOOOOOOOO @00.000

OOGOOOOOO @.OOOOOGO OOOOOOOOOG GOOOOOOOO OGOGOOOO o O O O O O O O G O OO O O O G O O O .O O O O O O.

OOOOO OOOOOO ooooo@ 0806.00

N. PETERS, Pholwulhagmphur. washngmn. Dy C.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

'CHARLES D. P. GIBSON, OE NEW YORK, N. Y.

ELECTRIC STORAGE-BATTERY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 379,572, dated March20, 1888.

Application filed August 25, 1887. Serial No. 247,815.

To all whom, it may concern:

Beit known that I, CHARLEs D. P. GIBSON, of the city and county OfNewYork, in the State of New York, have invented a certain new and usefulImprovement in Electric Storage-Batteries, of which the following is aspeciiicatiou.

Theimproved battery is ofthe class in which plates of lead are preparedwith peroxide of lead and properly connected'together and insulated, andalternately charged by connection to a dynamo-electric machine or otherefcient source of electric currents, and after the proper condition ofthe metal has been thereby attained are allowed to maintain thatcondition for any required period, and are afterward allowed todischarge, producing a proper current while connected usefully, so as toproduce any desired effect.

In my present improved battery I produce holes in the lead plates iilledwith peroxide of lead, the holes being arranged perpendicularly to thesurfaces, or, in other words, extending directly across through thematerial of the plate. They are closed by the addition of a sheet ofthin lead on each face, which is sunk into the plate so that its outerface coincides with the face of the plate on each side.

In the most complete form of the invention the material to fill eachhole is first inclosed in a capsule or continuous envelope of thin lead.A good portion ofthe benefit can, however, be Obtained by introducingthe material in a plastic state directly into the holes, fill ing each alittle more than full, and applying a thin sheet of lead across eachend. In either Inode of construction the material should be compressedby dies or otherwise, so as to bring the outer face of the sheet of leadwhich covers the ends flush with or preferably a little within thegeneral surface of the plate.

The term upsetting77 is applied by metalworkers to the act of shorteningand thickening. I will apply the term to my treatment of the capsulesand their contents.

The following is a description of what I consider the best means ofcarrying out the invention. The accompanying drawiu gs form a part ofthis specification.

Figure l is a vertical section through the battery on the line y y inFig. 2.

Eig. 2 is (No model.)

a plan View of the same. Fig. 3 represents one of the plates and theaccompanying insulating-strips shown in face view. The connections (notrepresented) may be of the ordinary character. The remaining figures areon a larger scale. Fig. 4. is a section through a portion of the plateand the adjacent surfaces of the compressing-rolls in the act ofcompressing the plate and upsetting the cap` sule therein. Fig. 5represents the material for a capsule with its two parts lled withperoxide and ready to be applied together.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all theigures where they occur.

A is a rectangular jar of glass.

B are insulating-strips, of hard rubber or other suitable non-conductingand incorrodible material, secured by screws b, Oi' the same oranalogous material. l

D are plates of lead about one-quarter of an inch in thickness, punchedor otherwise prepared with holes d, extending through, arranged zigzag,so that when the capsules are inserted and firmly locked they arecorrespondingly zigzag in arrangement. Care must he taken in placing thefastening-screws b so that they take hold of the metallic plate D, andnot of the softer and weaker peroxide. The screws b pass through thelead plate, and are screwed into the rubber insulation B on the otherside of the plate.

C c are capsules, applied one in each hole d, and of such size and formthat when loosely introduced they project alittle at each face; but whenthey have been compressed endwise with sufficient force they will beshortened and thickened, so as to each tightly fill its hole, and itsend will lie flush with the l'ace of the plate.

Each capsule is composed of a filling, c, of peroxide of lead, wroughtinto a paste, inclosed in a thin envelope of metallic lead. Each capsulemay be made in two parts, out and compressed into shape by one or moreoperations with suitable dies. The two parts are adapted to matchtogether, one partially within the other, as shown in section in Fig. 4.The capsules in process of manufacture are pierced with a small hole ateach end to allow the air to pass out when the active material IOO shallbe forced in, also to facilitate the action of the current indisintegrating the thin end or ends of the capsules. The two thinmetallic shells which are adapted to apply together, one matchingpartially within the other, are iirst oxidized by any of t-he knownprocesses on both the outer and inner surfaces. They are then appliedtogether, inclosing a proper quantity ot' the filling c in a pastycondition, and are ready for introduction into the plate. In filling theplate the capsules are inserted, by hand or otherwise, one 4in each holed, projecting a little at each face. Vhen all the holes are thus looselyfilled, the plate, with its capsules, is subjected to pressure, whichcompresses the several capsules'endwise, so as to shorten and thickenthem. This treatment may be effected by passing the plate, with itscontent-s, through a pair of rollers M; or it may be done by subjectingthe same to compression between dies, or by hammering. In any casethethin coating of metallic lead which originally covers each end remains,extending across the hole on each face and forming a protection for thecontents. a

It is important that the capsules and their contents be locked reliablyin the plate. To attain this end the pressure applied by the rollers M,or equivalent dies, in upsetting the capsules and compressing theadjacent metal, should be such as to distort the metal and cause thematerial of the plate D to overlap or clinch upon the capsule, asindicated at D' in Fig. 4. Care is taken to properly proportion thecapsules and the holes in the plate,s o

that the dies may compress the capsules and bring their previouslyprojecting ends flush with the general face of the plate on each side.

Modifications may be made in the details without departing from theprinciple or sacrit-ing the advantages of the invention. The capsulesmay be square or hexagonal instead of circular, and in such case theholesd in the plate should be correspondingly formed, but alwayssufficiently larger to allow the capsules to be easily inserted,depending upon the upsetting of the capsules to make them till theirholes. When the pressure is produced by dies, the dies may be formedwith projections matching the positions of the holes, so that theperoxide of lead filling the hole and the metal immediately adjacent tothe hole will be compressed, so that the covering of thin metal C willbe a little within the faces of the plate.

Some of the advantages of the invention may be attained Withoutpreviously charging the peroxide of lead into capsules. In such case theholes are filled directly with the peroxide of lead in a pastycondition, and after allowing it to become partially dry lead-foil insufficient-sized pieces is applied on each face and is confined bycompression. With `this construction of the plates it is more importantthan with the capsules to sink the covering metal O a little within thegeneral face of the plate. I extend the insulating-strips be Y terialmay be employed.

` low the plates to serve as foot-pieces, with a step on one side ofeach plate to support the oxygen-plate. The insulations are fastened tothe hydrogenplate (the everlasting plate) with a row of step insulationson one side. The oxygen-plate, when used up', can be taken out and a newone substituted with very little trouble or expense. The insulationmechanically supports the entire perpendicular of plate. The plate docsnot rest on a thin edge, and will not buckle or bend by its own weightor otherwise. There is no chance for the sulphate or debris, .which isconstantly falling, to catch on and short-circuit the battery. Thearrangement of these part-s saves the expense of foot-pieces, as thestep on the insulation does not add to the cost.

Instead of peroxide of lead, other active ma- I prefer the peroxidementioned. Instead of a pasty condition, itr may be introduced intheiorm o f powder. The shells of the capsules may be in the ordinarymetallic condition without being oxidized on the surface.

I attach importance to the incasing of the peroxide or other activematerial in capsules, because of the convenience and reliability of itsretention.

The loaded capsule can be arranged in many ways to take and give offreliable currents. I can use any metal box made from practical material,or a box made of rubber or any insulating material` with a met-al wirecoiled inside or a straight piece of metal placed in the center of thebox, and the loaded capsules packed around so as to have contact withthem, the wire or bar of metal to serve as a conductor and terminal. Thecapsule can be held in between wire-netting placed in troughs, suspendedwith wire passing through each capsuie, or placed loosely in cells,forming strata of loaded boxes with the proper insulations, which wouldseparate the oxygen strata from the hydrogen, with the metal Wire orstrip leading above the solution for terminals. The small hole d in eachend of each capsule allows the air to pass out when iilling and givesthe solution a chance to circulate through. I propose to prepare andsell the capsules commercially and permit the buyer to use them in hisown way.

I can make the loaded capsules without the ends pierced-forillustration, making the plate as above described and placing thecapsules in the holes and pressing or hammering the ends down even withthe plate. Place such plate in circuit with a dynamo and disintegratethe entire surface of the plate and the Plante crust is formed. The endsof capsules as Well as the plate must be necessarily disintegrated. Whenthis condition is complete, the thin metal end of the capsule has solidilied with the active material in the little capsules, and the plate isready for use.

I claim as my invention- 1. In a storagebattery, the plate D, havingholes d at right angles to its faces, in combi- IOO IIO

nation with the two-part capsules C, each part having a perforation inits outer end for the purpose described, and a filling of peroxide oflead in said capsules, said capsules iitting loosely in said holes d,substantially as specied.

2. ln a storage-battery, the plate D,lhaving holes (l at right anglestoits faces, in combination with the capsules C, tting said holes andclamped therein by pressure, said capsules being,` filled with peroxideof lead, substantially as specified.

3. In a storage-battery, the plates D, having holes cl at right anglesto the faces, in combination with the fillingc and coverings C,separately formed and applied, substantially as herein specified.

CHAS. D. P. GIBSON.

Witnesses:

F. H. PREsooTT, JOHN O. BIoKFoRD.

